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Nokia's Terminal Mode spotted in the wilds of the Geneva Motor Show
Those lovely people over at Nokia have furnished us with a few images of what their dashboard integration will look like, as well as the names of a few more partners for the Terminal Mode initiative. Intended to smarten up your car's hardware with the phone's capabilities -- whether that be to play back music, use Ovi Maps, browse the web, or whatever else -- this was announced in partnership with Alpine yesterday, but today we're hearing that Fiat, Harman Becker and Valmet Automotive are also getting in on the fun. The gallery below shows off a mockup from Valmet, which plops your Nokia into a cradle just under the Eva concept's "on" button, and then transfers all the important stuff onto an LCD integrated into the dashboard above. Nokia tells us that each OEM will have their own particular design, so this might not be how they'll all look, but as far as ease of use goes, we don't know how you can improve much on what's being shown already. Let's just hope the software is as effective as the presentation is handsome.%Gallery-87345%
BMW and Mercedes to have Intel Atom-based infotainment systems in 2012
Intel just announced that both BMW and Mercedes-Benz will be shipping Atom-based infotainment systems designed by Harman-Becker in 2012. BMW will make the system available in the 7-series, while MB will put it in S- and C-class vehicles. According to Paul Otellini, these are just the first Atom-based in-vehicle entertainment systems to be announced, and automakers are coming around to "consistent and persistent platforms," so we'd expect this is the start of a very welcome trend. Sadly there was no demo, but we'll be on the lookout here at IDF.
Becker comes to the US with the Traffic Assist Highspeed 7934 GPS
After releasing the Harman / Kardon Guide + Play a few months ago to positive reviews, Harman International looks like it's diversifying its GPS offerings here in the States with the introduction of a US-spec Becker Traffic Assist Highspeed 7934 GPS. The 6.5-ounce box features a 3.5-inch touchscreen with night mode, 64MB of memory expandable via SD, 400MHz processor, built-in NAVTEQ maps of the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and a speed limit display that can alert you when you get a little too exuberant. Other frills include a WMA / MP3 player and JPEG viewer that hopefully no one will ever use while driving, and optional bicycle mounting kit. Becker's giving this one exclusively to Office Depot, and it looks like they're already in stock for $299.
